Solomon Awa wins landslide victory in Iqaluit mayoral race
Incumbent wins support with 78 per cent of vote of votes cast to defeat 2 challengers
Solomon Awa, who was appointed mayor of Iqaluit a year ago, was elected to the position in his own right in a landslide win Monday night. (File photo)
Solomon Awa isn’t Iqaluit’s fill-in mayor any longer.
On Monday night, the city’s voters elected him to his own term as mayor in a landslide victory that saw him receive 78 per cent of the votes cast, easily defeating challengers Vincent Yvon and Lili Weemen.
Elections Nunavut posted the unofficial results for the race to lead the territorial capital shortly after 11 p.m., four hours after the polls closed.
With 10 of 10 polls reporting, Awa finished with 1,007 of the 1,289 total votes cast in the mayor’s race.
Finishing second was Yvon with 171 votes. Weemen finished third with 90 votes.
After serving as deputy mayor, Awa was appointed to the top job in 2022 after Kenny Bell’s abrupt resignation last October.
Awa, who works as the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit specialist with Qikiqtani Inuit Association, originally declared himself as a candidate for council. But on the final day for candidates to register, he entered the race for mayor instead.
An author and well-known elder in the community, Awa said he entered the race feeling he had the support of most residents.
His campaign included pledges to reduce utility rates, improve recreation for youth and cut burial costs.
Awa said he spent election night at a friend’s house, playing Yahtzee and other board games.
Despite the results coming out after his usual bedtime, as he jokingly noted, Awa described feeling emotional that he received so much support from his fellow community members.
“I’m really happy that a lot of people supported [me] when I put my name in,” Awa said.
“I’m really thankful, I really appreciate it.”
Awa said he’s looking forward to meeting with the new council, with old faces and new, to figure out what’s next.
“They know the drill,” he said.
“They’ve got lots of experience … they’re going to [be] very resourceful to the city.”
Iqaluit’s council race results were also posted shortly after 11 p.m.
Five incumbents – Kim Smith, Romeyn Stevenson, Kyle Sheppard, Samuel Tilley and Simon Nattaq – are returning to city hall.
Three new council members – Harry Flaherty, Methusala Kunuk and Jack Anawak – were elected.
Swany Amarapala was the only incumbent candidate that won’t return to council.
Smith, who received the most votes for council with 829, said in a message she was “straight-up floored” by the results. She said she spent the night refreshing the Elections Nunavut page waiting for results from Iqaluit.
“I am proud and humbled by the overwhelming support from our community,” she said.
“Looking forward to getting to work!”
Sheppard congratulated Smith for receiving the largest number of votes. He told Nunatsiaq News “biggest of congratulations to Coun. Smith, that’s a stellar result.”
For his own re-election, he said “I’m really, really excited. I think Iqaluit has elected a really strong team.”
In his own statement to Nunatsiaq News, Stevenson echoed Sheppard’s sentiment saying he is excited to work with a mix of incumbents and new council members.
For priorities, Stevenson said “we need to ensure waste management, water supply and land development are priorities that are kept in the forefront of city operations.”
Nothing new very low turn out 😂 who’s votes in Nunavut they don’t care
And of course you voted I assume?
Yes I did
Tbh Im glad Solomon won, there should be a new rule. If you cant speak inuktittut then your not qualified to run for Iqaluit mayor
Out of the what 8000 people how many are Inuit not even half look around 🙄
I guess you’re not aware of the Inuit language protection act and the right to be serviced in Inuktut. All nunavummiut should learn Inuktitut. For council to start learning would be a great step forward.
Go read the Act again. Your idea is illegal.
Don’t much know how democracy works, do you?
I encourage you to organize an Inuktitut Language Debate for next election.
That would really help the Inuktitut speakers stand out.
Inuit and Inuktitut are not respected much in Nunavut especially in our capital in Nunavut.
A lot not all but a majority that travel here for a few years don’t respect our language or culture.
It’s a problem that needs to be addressed, imagine Quebec having their candidates not able to speak French or candidates in Alberta that can’t speak English.
It is a serious issue that needs addressing and respected here in Nunavut where our language is being put behind and not respected, not being used officially. Majority of the population in Nunavut use Inuktitut. It should be the main language here in Nunavut.
Get real Ken, Inuktut should be used, not only Inuktitut. Way to marginalize other Inuit – good job.
Inuktut is inclusive of all dialects. Inuktut is an official language of Nunavut. The laws says you have a right to be serviced in inuktut. Read the inuit language protection act
Exactly, then why the focus on Inuktitut to the the detriment of speakers of another dialect?
I could have used Inuktut, but for Iqaluit and the city election of Iqaluit I thought Inuktitut was more fitting, but for all of Nunavut yes Inuktut should be used.
The point being Inuktut is not respected by people living here for a few years before they travel back to where they come from. Majority of people in Nunavut use Inuktut.
I thought the Mayor position is to represent all the people who live in Iqaluit NOT just Inuit speaking people. That is a deplorable and racist statement and I bet all the residents don’t feel the same as you.
It’s not racist, it’s just practical for the capital of Nunavut, Nunavut meaning our land! so it’s good that an Inuktitut speaker is elected and should be a priority of the city.
Within five years Inuit will be a plurality. I look forward to the day when an Urdu or Filipino speaker is elected. Time to represent the reality of the rapidly changing and less ethnically homogenous Iqaluit.
Times in Iqaluit, they are a changin’.
Don’t forget who created Nunavut, it was Inuit leaders, when the land claims was negotiated, Inuit leaders decided that the Nunavut Government was going to be a public government, not a self government which you are fearing. Let face it, majority of Inuit are not benefitting from creation of Nunavut, and it’s very important that all levels of Government do represent the majority, and the indigenous population has to be up and center of any decision as you know that been neglected in the rest of Canada. As Indigenous people say you are all treaty people and the Nunavut Claim is a modern day treat and show respect for Inuit as we have for all settlers.
A significant oversight by those Inuit leaders was to structure the Nunavut Government without its own source revenue, yet saddle it with the responsibility of all service delivery. Concurrently, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) was endowed with substantial own source revenue via mineral rights, but without the direct obligation to provide services to the Inuit populace it supposedly serves.
Regarding your point about mutual respect between the Inuit and settlers, it’s evident that not all interactions reflect this ideal, and there seems to be a widening divide. Perhaps it’s worth discussing whether the territory should be primarily Inuit-led and consider sending all the settlers back south. However, taking such a step might result in a significant service gap in the territory.
Not to mention that there is no ability to ‘send people back south’. You come to my door trying such an ethnic cleansing expect to be resisted.
Get real buddy, don’t forget your a settler and a guest on Inuit land act like it, be respectful, there’s no ethnic cleansing as you call it, no one making you speak Inuktitut, give up your salaries that you wouldn’t even enjoy down in southern canada. No one putting you in a residential reprogramming program to try and erase your identity. Ethnic cleansing was done here in Nunavut by the Government of Canada and Churches. So Inuit leaders fought for our rights, you wouldn’t even have a job here with the salary your bragging about to your friends and family back home.
Back home? Ima, I am home. This is my home for as long as I choose.
You have a particularly us and them mindset.
The fact you jump immediately to talking about “resisting ethnic cleansing” in the context of indigenous people who SURVIVED ETHNIC CLEANSING trying to talk about how we’re being sidelined from our own land and political entity is wild to see…
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The entitlement and aggression of your comment is matched only by your ignorance on display.
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We’re talking about how we’re being marginalised once again and how we can fix it with legislation etc and you’re immediately acting as if we’re trying to organise death squads to be sent door to door to remove you by force.
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I’m not psychologist, but this sounds like the guilty conscience of a settler who knows they’re profiting off an injustice, letting their imagination run wild and jumping to conclusions no one is trying to make.
How else would you characterize someone wanting to send everyone away based on ethnicity? The poster made it very clear that s/he wanted to remove all ethnicities except Inuk.
The poster used the term correctly.
Your use of the derogatory term ‘settler’ shows your lack of fundamental respect.
Words matter.
You’re not indigenous you’re a settlers in Canada,
Definitions of Settler: A person who moves with a group of others to live in a new country or area.
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Weird, I don’t remember ever doing that.
Nope. I had ancestors who were settlers more than 300 years ago. Everyone for the last 294 years have been native Canadian with a random smattering immigrant thrown into the mix. Immigrants are settlers – that is why they access settler services.
Why do you have such a hard time accepting the difference between native Canadians versus settlers?
Mmmm, the people of Canada created Nunavut via an act of Parliament under the stewardship of the Chretien government.
However, I will fully accept that a generation of Inuit leaders were the driving force and advocated for it. They did not, however, have the ability to ‘create’ Nunavut – parliament did.
Actually… it was the Mulroney government.
Indeed, my bad.
‘It is very important that all levels of government do represent the majority’ – okay then – I want to see all ethnic minorities, including Indigenous, as well as the Francophones out of government. They don’t represent the majority of this country. Doesn’t sound right, does it? And rightly so.
See, I would have thought that a better statement would be “It is very important that all levels of government do represent the electorate”. Clearly, you and I have different understandings of representative government.
Wow really, “looking to the future” comment. I understand there is a Filipino community and they are awesome but I don’t see this happening anytime soon. There are young Inuit who are getting more educated (the youngest ones) and hopefully will take on these positions. It’s really disheartening NN posts comments that are clearly prejudice towards Inuit, like take a step back and really think about the hurtful comments and ideas they have about a group of people who are the majority of the territory. Enough, yes there issues but this is borderline racism. Unfortunately, hearing the negative side will always be more amplified in the news and social media. But there are Inuit who are doing well and contribute!
NN, are you sure you have a moderator for comments? Are you guys being unbiased, you have a responsibility on this. Words matter, negative comments about any races (Inuit/non-Inuit) shouldn’t be posted – you shouldn’t create a platform for this. Thanks.
Congrats on the new mayor, it’s not easy to run in politics in a fish bowl.
Wow- I appreciate your taking the time to write, but how can you in any way see the OP’s s comment as borderline racism?
The OP was expressing the wish that the underrepresented and marginalized groups of our city seek the highest elected office. What is at all racist about that? I would think that it is to be applauded and encouraged. It is certainly not a negative comment about any of our city’s cultural groups.
There is much to recommend that comment – the dynamism and energy of some of those groups would be great to see in public office.
Evie this is the Inuit homeland and asking for service in our language is like living in any place, it is not racist it is called providing and essential service in one’s language.
It most certainly is if you make it a requirement for running for political office.
Racism is racism – accept this truth.
It’s not racism to mandate a level of language proficiency, because language is not tied to race.
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I know Europeans, Central Americans, Canadians, etc etc that know inuktitut to some degree including fluency. There was just a Kenn Harper article about a sailor who learned the language over a century ago, that had nothing to do with race…
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Aren’t there qallunaat MLAs that speak inuktitut elected right now?
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How is that possible if it’s about race? Language isn’t tied to race, stop getting scared because an indigenous group is trying to hold onto their language…
If I remember correctly, doesn’t Makivik require that are whoever is running has to be able to speak Inuktitut? So, it has been done before, Just putting out there.
Makivik is not a government for the people. It is a special interest group and can set such rules.
Now you know ET, we had this “thing” done to us for years, even before American Air Force was in full swing at this Baffin location which is now our capital. It hurts and I am glad someone understands but it’s going to take years to correct. Yes years….
You should look at Quebecs law to protect french. How come they can take extreme measures to protect the french language and it’s ok but when inuit try to protect our language it’s considered raciest?
Seriously, you can’t see the glaring racism?
Care to explain how a language requirement is racist? Anyone can learn any language anytime. So why is it ok for Quebec to have french requirement and it’s considered racist when inuit want outsiders to learn inuktitut. Its the same thing but a different language!!! Wake up!!! Only racist people scream racism
Ginger Ale, The Quebec Language Law does not prevent anyone, regardless of their primary language, from running for public office. While fluency in French may be an advantage in gaining support in Quebec, it’s not a mandatory requirement.
The essence of a public office is to represent the entire community.
In Nunavut, for instance, although a significant majority are Inuit, around 20% are not. In Iqaluit, the demographic is nearly evenly split between Inuit and non-Inuit. The language one speaks should not be a barrier to running for public office.
Ultimately, the choice lies with the electorate. In the recent Mayoral election, they chose a candidate who speaks Inuktitut.
It would be discriminatory to mandate language requirements for candidacy, however it’s entirely within voters’ rights to support a candidate who speaks a particular language.
It is pretty clear what the OP means. French is a cosmopolitan, heterogenous world language, it doesn’t belong to any ‘race’. Most speakers of French are black, Arab, or other non-white ancestry.
Inuktitut is the opposite. It is a very limited ethnically homogenous language. ‘Inuktitut speaker’ can be seen as a dog-whistle for ‘Inuk’.
Viewed through that lens, calls for limiting a position to an Inuktitut speaker are synonymous with ‘Inuk only’. Whether this is accurate or not, it is very easy to see such calls as asking for a racially acceptable candidate.
Full 2/3rd of non-Indigiounous Canadians who speak an indigenous language speak inuktituk. Greenland is also rife with diverse speakers.
At least two non-inuk Iqaluit Council Candiates spoke some inuktituk during their campain.
Nunavut’s only non-Inuk MLA (who is also trusted as Minister of Health) is an Inuktitut Speaker.
NO “inuktituk speaker” is no a dog whistle for Inuk. You are very wrong.
There is no language called “Inuit”.
Read the Inuit Language protection act and the official language act of Nunavut and how nunavut was created. We need allies not people like you. We welcome all people to nunavut to learn and serve with the Inuit language. If you speak and learn with us, you’re helping to make our language stronger.
Uaq, it seems you misunderstand the Language Protection Act. While individual politicians or persons aren’t mandated to abide by it, governments are required to ensure that services are accessible in Inuktitut.
Citing this act to question why a politician doesn’t speak the language isn’t accurate.
Regarding the recent elections, the council seems to reflect the community well, with five Inuit councilors and an Inuk Mayor. Among them, a majority do speak Inuktitut. It’s worth noting, however, that the council lacks representation from non-Inuit persons of color, which could enhance the representation of the city’s diverse population.
We should recognize that Iqaluit is changing; many newcomers or non-inuit have laid down roots, started families, and provide services to the Inuit community. It’s time to embrace the evolution and move beyond the past debates
I do wonder about the shallow and performative ‘phenotype diversity’’ that you are promoting, but I believe your intentions are good,
The average age of council is almost DOUBLE the average age of the city. Of nine on council, eight are men. Yes, representation can improve.
Agreed. Fully.
I once heard of a man who had a dream that one day, his children and grandchildren would be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin…❤️✌️
Hmmm, I know many Inuit who can’t speak more Inuktitut than your average two-year-old. You want to bar them from office? Good luck with that.
Many Inuit in Nunavut are not fluent in Inuktut and are among the most educated and capable Inuit in the Territory for a variety of reasons.
They are constantly passed over for employment opportunities matched to their skills in favour of connected Inuktut speaking candidates with no hard skills in governance or management. And then we watch as the GN and Inuit orgs go completely off the rails while petty, uneducated, unskilled and small minded Inuit bitch and whine and blame everything on “others”. They are the Inuit who are killing the Nunavut dream.
It was about so much more than language.
Who cares if someone speaks Inuktut if only garbage comes out of their mouths?
That’s a great point Steve-O! See what happens when you don’t respect the Inuktitut language and use it officially, the language degrades and Inuit who become more colonized stop using it,
It’s a real issue and more importance need to be put on using our language and protecting our language from further discrimination.
Great point!
In many examples that I know of, it is nothing to do with‘ respect and usually has to do with family background. How many ‘Nunavut’ Inuit spent much of their childhood elsewhere? You’d deny them political opportunity? Seriously?
AMEN!!!
I wonder how the Inuit in Greenland manage to use their language everywhere, even Inuit doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers speak their indigenous language, why is it so difficult in Canada?
What is the difference because there’s Danes and other people the move and work in Greenland.
How are they able to be successful, educated, live and travel in other countries and move back to Greenland and still be able to use their language? Amazes me that it works so well over there but on this side we have to argue with people, a few people who just want us to not use our language especially in politics and officially. It’s so strange. In our own land.
I think our GN should be working closer together with our cousins in Greenland government, adopting and using how their government works instead of the cut and paste from the NWT/Alberta government we use in GN.
At our little sik-sik hole in “none of it” the language is dying fast. Many of us use “baby talk” Inuktitut and mix it with English. Like…”Span-glish”. Spanish & English.
And….. there’s that silly little thing called the Charter of Rights and something about freedom of expression or something like that.
People who makes decisions over what goes into towns, Arviat coop for example, home hardware was to support the arviat coop, but it turns out local business has taken the home hardware to its business. It would have supported the local coop store and open more jobs to locals. That store business owners are only hiring who they want and leaving out locals real locals who would have had jobs with the coop.
Generally speaking (yes there are exceptions) people who are flown in from the south to work are more reliable and have a better work ethic.
Many with parents the children today are strict. Even if you got no job maybe because of your strict parents older generational parents they like to say things like I’m supporting you over food, living under their roofs, so our parents makes decisions over our lives. Many are living comfortably having daily work, but remember that Inuit has a culture that keeps many out of having a daily job
Good for the Mayor; there’s still few Mavericks out there, that good news. There are still some ppl out there that their word is their bond… Salamunii namaktutit….
Nunavut with underground water and sewer system, why do they chose to be like that? Most of Nunavut has a loud sewer vehicles and water trucks that goes to people’s homes. Nunavut is mostly government funded for housing, education is looked after, how can Inuit normal Inuit have privacy rights? In protecting their education, protecting their finances needs, what is with those who creates and gives it off to in need, drop outs, income support. Please someone explain?